Crochet Beginners Series, Part 1: Useful Resources

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When I first started this blog I began with 2 posts for beginners: The perils of being a lefty and Let’s Learn how to crochet. As my very first blog posts, needless to say they’re not of the highest quality, in fact I cringe thinking about them but they are part of my journey and so they stay! However, 8 months on I have decided to start a Crochet Beginners Series almost as an homage to these very first posts.

When I first started this blog what I really wanted to do was help people get into this old and exciting hobby! It can be really challenging to learn how to crochet, especially if you’re alone with no-one to teach you (as I was). I wanted to reach out to those people and tell them, it’s OK! You can do it!

So here is part 1 of my new 8 part Crochet Beginners Series (I will be updating this with links to the rest of the series once they are published). This particular post is a direct update of my very second post Lets Learn to Crochet, but hopefully this time I can do a better job of it! Once you’re ready you can move on to Part 2!

This post does contain affiliate links to products I know and trust and may provide me with a small commission for my yarn fund if you purchase through my links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Types of Learner

Before delving into the world of crochet I think it helps to know what type of learner you are. Now you don’t just have to be one type of learner you can be a mix but by understanding how you learn you can know which resources are going to help you the most. The 3 types of learning most associated with crochet are: Visual, Reading/Writing and Kinesthetic. Although it is worth saying that crochet is a very visual medium and if you don’t have an in person tutor then youtube is most likely your best bet!

Visual

Visual learners learn better from presentations, videos and other such media; being able to visually see relationships between ideas helps them learn. Youtube is probably the best resource to learn from as well as very photo heavy blogs.

Reading/Writing

These learners enjoy learning in text form: for instance I always used to read through my notes and rewrite them out multiple times to learn them. Very descriptive blogs were my go to, although I did also learn well from youtube videos, good quality crochet books would also work very well.

Kinesthetic

Kinesthetic learners tend to learn by doing: a hands on approach to learning allowing for a lot of trial and error would work best in this case. This is much harder to achieve when learning alone, if you know you’re a kinesthetic learner consider looking for a crochet group or class in your area. Otherwise you can find the basic instructions on a blog or video and just give it a go, have a play and see if it looks like theirs.

Resources

The resources here come recommended from the Crochet Beginners Group on Facebook; these ladies are so wonderful and supportive of each other and gave wonderful advice on how to get started!

Learning to crochet could make you this happy!

Blogs and Websites

Craft Yarn Council: A really love site with resources for both knitting and crochet. From in depth photo guides on the basic stitches and information about yarn and labels, all the way to free patterns, groups to join and yarn celebration days there’s everything you could need to get started.

WikiHow: Surprisingly useful for the basics and has step by step pictures to help you along

Youtube

Bella Coco: Bella Coco is where I first started. She makes wonderful, clear videos on even the most basic of crochet stitches. Follow her videos from the very beginning and you will be crocheting away in no time!

Mikey Crochet Crowd: Mikey is very clear and detailed when explaining how to crochet; if you’ve never touched a hook in your life you can learn from his videos!

Girlybunches: Again lovely tutorial videos, what’s really good about girlybunches is her left handed videos so if you are left handed give them a look because it really can help to see another left hander doing it.

Red Heart: Red heart are a big company producing yarns and patterns. Their Youtube channel has lots of playlists and patterns to get you started and lots more resources such as interviews to keep you interested

Crochet Stitches Visual Encyclopedia: Part of the beauty of crochet is the real variety of stitches you can do. Well this book has 305 of them! Great for a beginner but this book will see you through projects for years to come!

Complete Guide to Symbol Crochet: Many people only crochet from video tutorials and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! However you will have a much bigger choice of thing you can make if you can read a pattern. Especially crochet diagrams which is where this book comes in. Once you’ve mastered crochet diagrams you can read a pattern in any language. How cool is that?!

The Crochet Bible: A great all-round guide to learning to crochet and improving your technique.

How to begin

Gather your resources

Crochet hooks:

Hooks come in metal, plastic or wood (as well as ergonomic to help those poor hands). They all have their advantages so just use google and find out which you like the sounds of. I like wooden ones; when I first started I bought this set because it was super cheap and I’ve never tried any other material. If you can afford a whole set then great! You’re prepared for any project! If not, choose your yarn and buy the hook size recommended on the label.

My very first hooks!

Yarn:

You can use absolutely any yarn you like! Honest you can. However if you are just starting out you may want a thick yarn in a pale colour so you can easily see the stitches. Yarn comes in many different materials: for most projects you’ll either use cotton or acrylic. Again a quick google will help you decide which will be best for you. Learn to read a yarn label so you can get the most out of your yarn, for instance you probably don’t want to make baby clothes out of a yarn that is handwash only.

So many pretty yarns!

Scissors:

Any scissors will do really, but tiny sharp scissors will do best, these are the ones I use and I love them.

Yarn Needle:

Once you’ve made a crocheted item you’ll need to weave in the ends of your yarn to give it a nice finished look. A normal needle wont do for this because the eye is just too small so you need something like this to get the job done. Don’t worry though, this isn’t essential for getting started so you can invest in these once you’re more proficient.

Once you’ve gotten your yarn and hook and had a go at the basic stitches we can start to have fun! Have fun getting started and keep an eye out for Crochet Beginner Series Part 2!

In the meantime comment below with any tips or questions you have! Follow my Pinterest board for crochet tips and infographics:

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Comments

Thank you for sharing all those links and inspiration at The Really Crafty Link Party. My mom taught me to crochet when I was a kid, and I do love it, but I’m terrible at following patterns and at using more complicated stitches, so there are a few of those links and books that may help me too!

You are very welcome, I hope some of them are useful! My family only knitted so I had to learn crochet on my own, luckily there are so many resources available now that one of them is bound to click! Once you get more confident reading patterns and doing fancy stitches I think it gets so much more fun! Stick with it, you’ll do great!

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Join me on a journey of discovery as I experiment with crochet, knitting and crafts! Use the menus above to explore the subject you’re interested in and if you want a chat either comment on a post and start a discussion or feel free to email me a sophie@prettypotato.co.uk